


Insomnia Crossing

by notthelasttime



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: (via projection onto... video game cats?), Characters Playing Animal Crossing Game(s), Gen, Strict Parenting, Young Ignis Scientia, gay uncle alphonse says: my child now, i have no idea how to tag this one, learning self confidence, making friends and fitting in
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26346163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notthelasttime/pseuds/notthelasttime
Summary: Certain things Ignis knew before coming to Insomnia. Things momma taught him well. Behave. Be quiet. Study hard and don't cause trouble. He wouldn't be successful if he wasted time on silly things. Video games and TV and spending time with friends were only a distraction.So he's not entirely sure what it means when his Uncle Alphonse gets him a new gift and tells him, sometimes it's okay to play.Or: the one where Ignis plays Animal Crossing, makes friends, and maybe doesn't feel so bad about his grey suits and thick glasses when his favorite cat wears them too.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 31





	Insomnia Crossing

Early afternoon sun streamed through spring green leaves, blotting out the sun in fits and starts as the train barreled through the landscape. Ignis was staring at the window, blinking every time the open sky caught him full force and temporarily blinded him, but he was too enraptured to turn his head away. It was his first time away from home. Not just out of his home town, but out of Tenebrae all together.

“Next stop, Insomnia Central Station. Please stay seated until the train has reached a complete stop. Stand clear of the doors.”

Ignis reached into his front pocket where he kept his little note card of instructions tucked away in his best suit. Written in his mother’s sharp script, a list of stops and transfers, and a number to call when he arrived, along with pocket change for the pay phone at the station.

Insomnia Central.

His final stop after a full night of travel. First a train, then a boat, then a train again.

 _Behave yourself_ , her mother had told him, straightening the plain tie he wore and checking the crispness of his jacket. _Don’t make trouble for anyone. You’re a smart boy. Follow your instructions and you’ll make it to the city just fine._

There were no hugs or kisses goodbye.

Ignis didn’t expect them. That had never been his family, one of quiet order and empty spaces. He’d been dropped off at the Tenebrae station in the early evening, with plenty of time to spare before his departure, but he had a book to read and a schedule to keep. There were curious looks from passersby, concerned glances at the little boy in the grey suit, carrying a small black traveling bag, but no one approached him. Surely he was with his family. Surely they had only gone to the bathroom, went to buy their family tickets, surely he wasn’t there alone.

“Now arriving at Insomnia Central Station. Please remember to check all luggage racks for personal belongings. Thank you, and have a great day.”

Straightening himself as the momentum of the train started to slow, Ignis hopped down from the plush seat by the window, and took his bag with him to the door.

There were a row of payphones by the revolving glass doors and open courtyard at the front of the building. Ignis had to stand on his tippy toes to see properly while he pushed in the number printed on his note card, and the following conversation was short. He couldn’t hear much in the echoes of the busy station entrance, and a strange sort of tiredness was coming over him. Silly, he thought, when all he’d been doing was sitting for so long. But Lucian temperatures were mild and the sun was still bright, so after making his phone call, Ignis went outside to one of the open wooden benches. The wide expanse of concrete was home to a fancy fountain, a rest stop for pigeons, stray wishing coins settled at the bottom of the water. Mostly the crowds were rushing in and out to catch trains or taxis, a woman on the next bench over spoke loudly into her cellphone, and a mother and child were eating sandwiches together and watching the fountain, pointing at the birds testing their bravery and getting close to passing people. The mother absently rubbed a bit of bread crumbs from the side of the child’s cheek, and he felt a sort of second hand embarrassment. Why would she baby him like that? He wasn’t much younger than Ignis. Yet he found he couldn’t stop staring until the left. 

Ignis found other people to watch, and sat patiently, waiting for his ride.

22 minutes later a thin man in a brown tweed suit and round, wire-rimmed glasses came into the courtyard. Rushed, but pleasant looking, peering through the crowds for his charge, and his mousy brown hair getting tossed in the light breeze. Ignis had seen pictures of this man before. Old pictures, before he’d gone prematurely grey at the temples, back when he wore different glasses, but he was still recognizably a Scientia. The same tall and slim body, the same bump in his nose as his mother, as Ignis himself. He was handsome, though Ignis was hardly a good judge of that sort of thing. All he knew was that he liked him. A little thread of attachment, reaching out. Ignis was careful to keep it close.

He stood up and made himself known.

“Uncle Alphonse.” Nothing.

“ _Uncle Alphonse._ ”

His uncle started, taking a moment to look around him before his eyes went down to Ignis’s height.

“Ignis!” He exclaimed with joy, a smile breaking out on his face and he came forward, crouching down on a knee and for one terrible moment Ignis thought he was about to be embraced. But then, pulling himself back Uncle Alphonse instead gave a tight lipped smile and let his hands settle on Ignis’s shoulders, giving them a solid squeeze. “Gods, you’ve gotten so big! I haven’t seen you since you were still In diapers.” The Tenebraen accent was there in his words but softened by Insomnia, giving his voice a strange cadence. Uncle Alphonse looked around again, growing concern on his face and Ignis had the awful feeling that he’d done something wrong when he was asked, “Ignis, are you… _alone?_ “

It was hard not to take offense, and young Ignis straightened his shoulders. “Momma gave me train fare and wrote me instructions. I can go places by myself.”

“Yes... yes of course,” Uncle said with another squeeze to his shoulder and a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I forget how grown up you are now. Come on then, where are your things? We’d best get going.”

There was another dismayed look when Ignis showed the small travel bag he brought, and again he was uneasy, like he’d been misbehaving and didn’t know it. But Uncle Alphonse grabbed the bag without further word and they were off to where the car was parked. Ignis didn’t know much about cars, but his uncle’s was black and shiny and it looked fast. Like nothing he’d gotten to ride in Tenebrae.

“Are you hungry, Ignis?” Uncle Alphonse asked once they’d pulled out onto the road and into traffic.

“Um, I guess,” he said, not entirely sure of the appropriate answer. At home they ate when momma said it was time to eat.

“No need to be shy,” Uncle said, with a quick glance and a smile in his direction. “What do you have a taste for?”

“Um… anything is fine,” Ignis replied, again uncertain of what his Uncle wanted. He didn’t seem inclined to push, at least, and so a few blocks down the road, they pulled up to a diner with bright red awnings hanging over the windows. There were matching red vinyl seats inside, paired with sparkling white counters and table tops. With a quick wave to the waitress, Uncle Alphonse led them to sit at a booth by the window. 

“This place was a favorite in my younger days. I hope you’ll like it too.”

Ignis was wide-eyed, looking around at all the people and colors. It wasn’t particularly crowded for lunch, but there was enough commotion, in combination with the music playing from the jukebox, that it all seemed very overwhelming.

There were menus already on the table, sandwiched between the mustard and napkins. Uncle Alphonse placed it in front of him, laminated and slightly sticky, and Ignis blinked down at it. 

Burgers and fries with silly names like The Big Kahuna, onion rings and mac and cheese. A whole lot of food he was never allowed to eat. The waitress his Uncle had waved at came by with two glasses of ice water, red lipstick parting wide over big white teeth when she smiled at him and called him _hun_. 

“Know whatcha want yet, hun?” she asked, and Ignis didn’t know what to say back, his Uncle kindly telling her they might need a few more minutes. 

“Their milkshakes are some of the best,” he told Ignis conspiratorially as he leaned forward. “Mint chocolate was always my favorite. Would you like to try one?”

“Um…” Ignis looked around again, at the spotless table, the glare of the overhead lights reflecting on his menu. 

“Whatever you want,” Uncle Alphonse said, gently, and with a soft patience that Ignis couldn’t rightly say he’d ever heard before, even if he had the wherewithal to pinpoint that tone. “It’s your first day in the big city, and I know you’ve had a very long trip here all by yourself. My treat.”

Ignis bit his lower lip, and then gave a slow tentative nod.

“Milkshakes?” Uncle Alphonse asked, and Ignis nodded again. That made him smile. He caught the waitresses eye and waved her over so they could order. Milkshakes for them both (mint chocolate for him, strawberry vanilla for Ignis), and a grilled cheese with fries. 

The food was ready fast, still smoking from the kitchen and smelling delicious. Ignis was shy at first, taking tiny bites, not entirely sure the meal was really allowed. But as he watched his Uncle sip his own milkshake and tap his fingers in time with the music on the table, little by little, his reservations faded away. He even pretended not to notice Uncle Alphonse steal one of his fries when he said, “Hey Ignis, look at that!” and pointed at the other side of the room. Ignis chose to forgive him, especially since Uncle Alphonse let him try the mint chocolate milkshake, which was indeed, very good. 

But the adventure took its toll and Ignis, with a full belly and brain freeze, starting to feel overwhelmed by the noise in the diner, which Uncle Alphonse was quick to see. He paid their bill, and led Ignis back to the car.

Another quick drive down the road, and they were in a quieter neighborhood of local shops and crowded townhouses. Uncle Alphonse parked in the street, under the shade of a maple tree, then grabbed Ignis’s bag once again and led him across the street. Ignis was yawning by that time, his eyes down, looking at the crosswalk painted in a pretty rainbow. Nothing like his old neighborhood, where he lived in Tenebrae. 

They walked down the sidewalk to a cracking walkway, leading up to a dark green and brown house with a small and shady front stoop. “I’ll have a house key for you tomorrow,” Uncle Alphonse told him as they went inside. It was a narrow home, but with three floors and a warm feel. Mail and keys left scattered on a table by the door, a row of haphazard shoes sitting under a coat rack. “I’ve got a room all ready for you upstairs. We’ll go to the Citadel tomorrow and you can meet everyone and get settled in. You can have a room there too, if you want. All yours, and nice and close to the Prince. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

It did sound nice. _Too_ nice even, but Ignis knew better than to question things like that when said by adults. Uncle Alphonse led him upstairs to a small room. There was a desk and a bed, and a small empty bookshelf. “There’s not much, but I thought you might like to pick out your own things. We can see what you need and then get it this weekend.” Uncle placed his luggage at the foot of the bed. “I’ll let you unpack and get some rest,” he said, moving to leave and close the door behind him. “I’ll be downstairs if you need anything. Don’t hesitate to come get me if you need, okay?” And with that, he left Ignis alone.

* * *

Some time later Ignis heard voices from downstairs.

The sun had moved far enough to darken the room, though it wasn’t yet night. He must have fallen asleep at some point, but Ignis couldn’t remember even laying down. He’d put his clothes in the closet, set the few books he’d brought on the shelf and then…

Then he thought about going to the Citadel tomorrow. Finally meeting the Prince, and the King, and thought about his mother telling him what a _smart_ boy he was. How he would be just perfect to serve the Lucian Crown, so long as he behaved himself, learned to stop being disruptive and studied harder than anyone else. He couldn’t hope to be important if he didn’t make sure he was good enough.

Ignis rubbed his eyes and slid off the bed, and then started down the stairs. 

“ _... makes you say that…? Clarus knows more about these kinds of things..._ ”

“ _... you’re still younger, at least. Might have some idea…_ ”

“ _... not sure…_ ”

“ _... sister is bigot and a cold hearted b-_ ”

“Uncle Alphonse?”

There was a strange man standing near the door, talking with his Uncle. They both looked up at him, clearly surprised to see him there, and Ignis was worried he should have stayed in his room. He wasn’t eavesdropping, not really. Momma told him plenty of times that eavesdropping was bad, and that was a lesson he learned well.

“Ignis, come here,” Uncle Alphonse said, and he didn’t look mad, but Ignis knew that wasn’t always to be trusted, “there’s someone here you should meet.”

He was brought to stand in front of his Uncle, looking at the tall man in front of him, in some sort of Lucian military guard, stern blue eyes and a humorless expression. Ignis didn’t know what to make of him.

“This is Cor Leonis, the Marshal of the Crownsguard. He’ll be helping you at the Citadel tomorrow. If you have any questions when I’m not around, you can ask Cor for help.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ignis,” the Marshal said after running moments of silence. He had the stiff disposition of someone not normally used to dealing with children. But that was alright. Ignis wasn’t much like other children anyway.

“Hello, Sir,” he said, a little pleased and feeling like an adult when Cor leaned down and shook his hand. 

“Why don’t you go wait for me in the kitchen Ignis, I’ll be there in a moment, alright?” Uncle Alphonse told him, and Ignis nodded, knowing a demand from an adult when he heard one. He hurried off down the hallway, glancing back only once. 

Both his Uncle and the Marshal stood hushed, watching him go, and looking at him curiously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to apologize for leaving so many other fics hanging at the moment. but uhh hey! this year's sure been a hell of a thing huh, and most of my writing juice has been taken up by the rarepair bang (which I'll be very excited to share with everyone when the time comes)
> 
> I needed something a little soft and sweet to balance things out. it has, of course, grown larger than expected, and is no longer the oneshot originally intended but.. eh. that's alright


End file.
